TubeNet

I've wanted to conduct an "Alexander Census" for some time now as the last time I recall this being done it was on old Tubenet and had to have been at least 5 years ago.

I'm simply curious about who amongst us owns and/or regularly plays an Alexander regardless of whether you're a student, amateur, or a professional.

So, I'd love to hear about which model you have, which key, number of valves, and approximate year of construction, along with any other interesting information.

Last summer I sold my beloved 4 valve, Red Brass (raw) 1969 Alex 163 CC to one of my students. I bought it from Lee Hipp of the San Antonio Symphony in November 1996, used it throughout my studies at OU (1999) & NEC (2001), and professionally for 6 years until I recently switched to the Gronitz PCK (2007)...jobey

Mine (to reply to my own thread )...

1983-1984 Alexander 163 CC
4 rotors

Other misc. interesting info:

Bronze top and bottom rotor plates (bearing plates...whatever they are). And yes, I'm sure they're bronze.

Non-"jumbo" receiver, but still will about swallow a modern Euro shank mouthpiece.

Apparently this was among the last of the "vintage" Alexander 163s before production was halted for c. 20 years while they concentrated on building [French] horns. There definitely isn't ever much mention of the Alexanders of the 1980s.

I've had it for a year and half or so. I purchased it from Wichita Band (its the one that ran on ebay many times, though I did not buy through ebay). Enough clues were with the instrument that I was able to track down all of the owners since new and verify the dates. It has had an interesting past including time spent as a school horn and a stint in the Dallas Wind Symphony.

At Wichita Band:



Since that photo was taken the tuning slide rod was removed (a complete nuisance for me), valve section was rebuilt, and various other loose ends were tied up.

I have owned 2.

My first was bought from Paul Destito in 1977 for the princely sum of $800. He bought it from Pete Popiel who bought it from Chester Roberts who used it as his main big horn in Cleveland until he retired in 1966. Very interesting horn. It was made in the early '50's as a hybrid BBb/CC. It was very large and you could change out the main tuning slide and 4th valve slide to play in BBb or CC. It had some interesting pitch tendencies, but what a sound. It actually played better in BBb. Chester Roberts used that particular horn on the 1959 recording of Prokofiev 5 with Cleveland. No missing the resonance and presence. I understand that he did most of his playing on a 6 valve Alex F and used a Contrabass sparingly. With all apologies to the late Mr. Jacobs, I think Chester was represented better, recording wise, on the Cleveland Bartok Concerto for Orchestra, but that is apples and oranges as they were both great players. I sold the Alex to Don Harry in 1979 and I believe he may still own it. Oddly enough, I couldn't find the BBb slides when I sold it and when found years later I gave them to Lee Stofer.

My second Alex was bought in 1988. I used it as my main horn while teaching at the SOM and playing the Tidewater area with a number of various groups. It was a "Giardinelli" Alex that was a great horn, but oddly enough it had problematic valves. If I remember the bearings were shot until Lee Stofer swedged them at Forscom in 1990. I sold that particular Alex to a young man in Tyler, Texas in early 1991. Dave Kirk played it at TBA in 1990 and loved it. Very good pitch!!!!

Nothing compares to an Alex. I like Chester Schmidts sound on the Alex more than the York-O-Phones, particularly the stupendous recording of the Prokofiev "Romeo and Juliet" scores made with the BSO and Erich Leinsdorf in the early 70's and the complete "Ma Vlast" cycle on DG from the same years, and I always thought that the gentleman who plays in Cincinnati was well represented on their fabulous recordings on his. Personal taste to be sure, but once you have had an Alex it's hard to turn back.

Chuck

I have owned 2 Alexander 163's. The first I bought in 1998, and traded it for a MW 2145. It was a 5 valve, with a flat whole step 5th slide.

The second, which is currently for sale at Baltimore Brass, I purchased from Ivan Hammond. It was a 5 valve with a 2 step 5th slide. It was a spectacular instrument. The intonation was spot on. No slide pulling or alternate fingerings needed. I sold it to Mike Thornton in 2002 when I had stopped playng for a time and needed money. Mike has since used it on several recordings and anyone who has heard them can attest to the results he acheived.

I miss that sound very much, but I have found it again with my Meinl-Weston 2155R. Its just more amplified. Very Germanic and commanding sound. Intonation is great on this horn as well although not as good as the last Alex I owned. Even the bottom line G is good, which was notoriously bad on this instrument according to some. It just depends if I feel like lipping, or using 1 and 3. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Alexander tubas. I would love to have given a toot on Chuck's first Alex. The tuba playing on that recording of Prokofiev 5 is nothing short of SPECTACULAR. Any idea what happend to it? Does Don Harry still own it?

I have a 4-valve CC of uncertain vintage purchased around ten years ago through an ad on this list. At least two owners ago it had ball and socket linkages installed. An professional orchestra player who uses an Alex as his main horn has described mine as, "A good but not great Alexander." It's plenty good enough for me.

Pete DuBeau plays a detatchable bell Alex as his main horn with the Virginia Symphony. He has the bell front too, but I can't convince him to play that in the group for some reason.

I play alex 163 5 valve rotary CC...

I have a B flat Alex 164 purchased by me from the factory in 1957 for less than $400 including freight to the US and customs. It had mystical qualities then and there's still something spooky about it.

Any Alex F's out there?

ZNC Dandy wrote:I miss that sound very much, but I have found it again with my Meinl-Weston 2155R. Its just more amplified. Very Germanic and commanding sound. Intonation is great on this horn as well although not as good as the last Alex I owned. Even the bottom line G is good, which was notoriously bad on this instrument according to some. It just depends if I feel like lipping, or using 1 and 3. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Alexander tubas.

Please don't make me miss that tuba any more than I already do! I only sold it with the intention of putting my growing family in a house, which never worked out; I would never have parted with it for any other reason. When I was still at Lee U, Dr. David Holsinger noticed a big difference on the first Wind Ensemble recording where I used that horn instead of my previous 2145.
Although the Kalison Pro 2001 is comparable in size of sound, it is very much an apples-oranges thing, and I wouldn't mind having both (Fruit salad!) The only notes on the 2155R as far as intonation for me that were problematic were the G and the F#. 5th partial notes were either on or very close, and the high register was scary in tune!
P.S. I really want my F tuba back, too!!!

Any Alex F's out there?

I have one here as my only small horn. I bought it from James Manganaro in 2004. The prior owner was Peter Warhaftig (sp?) in San Francisco. I don't know the exact date the horn was made but it is serial no. 112058 (possibly 1958?) I recently had the 5th valve switched over from left hand to right thumb with a MW 182 thumb linkage.

My first introduction to the Alex F's was studying with Dave Kirk a few years ago. He has 2 163 CCs and an incredible F. At one point Mark Barton also had 2-3 Fs. I had the chance to play both Dave's and Mark's horns at the same time, and even though all them had different qualities, there was still something unique and quite desirable in all the instruments.

Chuck Jackson wrote:...It was a "Giardinelli" Alex that was a great horn, but oddly enough it had problematic valves. If I remember the bearings were shot until Lee Stofer swedged them at Forscom in 1990. I sold that particular Alex to a young man in Tyler, Texas in early 1991. Dave Kirk played it at TBA in 1990 and loved it. Very good pitch!!!!

Mine is a Giardinelli imported Alexander, too. It was originally part of a school purchase order of 4 Alexanders...2 in BBb and 2 in CC. They were eventually "decommissioned" by the school and were sold. The CCs were sold together. The BBb Alexanders were described as "gone" by the gentleman that rescued the CCs. I do not know if that means they were no longer around or if that means they were basically destroyed after hard use in a school enviornment (likely both).

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "problematic valves," but the valves on mine were shot when I got it. To be fair, that was after 20 years of hard use though, so perhaps there exists little connection between your experience and mine. Nonetheless, I had them completely rebuilt, and I'd say they are better than new rotors on many tubas out there. I've still got the original linkage (unibal on rotor, double hinge-pin type on the other end) on 3 of the 4 valves too(one was broken and deemed irreparable, so it was replaced with modern minibal). I'd love to have them all be matching minibal links, but the remaining 3 originals work very well and are very quiet, so I've avoided doing so.

Mine has great pitch too, and not just "for an Alexander" either.

I own an old 6 valve silver plated alex f....great horn and not for sale!!! Question: Anyone own a newer Alex 163 5V in the New England area....looking to possibly purchase one sometime in the future but have not actually played one. Let me know.

Alexander 163 CC, 4 valves, gold brass, made in 1975.

This was and still is my main tuba although I have not
played a professional job in a few years.
I played it a minor professional orchestra
in the late 1970's, substituted in other orchestras,
and used it in professional bands, Dixieland,
brass quintets, and whatever else I played.

best,
Mark

Tom wrote:So, I'd love to hear about which model you have, which key, number of valves, and approximate year of construction, along with any other interesting information.

Model: you tell me (please!)
Key: Bb (euphonium)
Valves: 4 top piston
Year: unknown
Other: Forward bell, largish bore (ca. 15mm)

Donn wrote:
Model: you tell me (please!)
Key: Bb (euphonium)
Valves: 4 top piston
Year: unknown
Other: Forward bell, largish bore (ca. 15mm)

Got a picture?

I don't know that I've ever seen a piston Alexander anything.

I have Mike Sanders' old Alexander 163 CC (1968). It's gold brass with 4 valves. It's a great tuba and not for sale.

I also have a gold brass F tuba from the mid 1940's (model 154 maybe?). This F tuba is smaller than the more modern 155 models. When I bought it, the tuba only had 4 valves. I dropped the cash and had parts shipped from the Alexander factory for a 5th valve. It was put on a few years ago and I still play the horn regularly.

The pitch on my CC is way better than my F...there's a couple of notes that make me want a different F tuba, but not enough to sell it.

Jeff

My bandmate in the DePaul New Horizons band plays an Alex BBb from the late '60s. He was a tuba performance major at U of I and studied with Dan Parentoni. Sweet horn.

I play an Alex 155 F.

I bought the horn from Dillon in October of 2003. It was brand new at the time.

I will never part with this horn...